PASS BOND ISSUE FOR POLICE STATION

DELRAY BEACH'S proposed new police station is needed, and voters should approve a $5 million bond issue to pay for it. The Sun-Sentinel recommends that voters cast ballots FOR the bond-issue referendum on the March 12 ballot.

The new police station -- called a "public safety facility" on the ballot -- would be triple the size of the overcrowded present station on Southwest First Street. The old station, used since 1970, no longer is adequate for the growing police force of a growing city. The new station would contain 30,000 square feet and would be built at West Atlantic Avenue and Southwest Second Avenue.

If the bond issue is approved, city property taxes would be increased by 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, from the present $5.29 to $5.74.

It was a mistake by the council to use "public safety facility" instead of "police station" in the referendum wording. The idea was to make the referendum more popular, on grounds that everyone supports public safety. Actually, it just makes the referendum harder to understand. Nonetheless, the station is needed and the voters ought to vote for the referendum.